Overweight and obesity transcends gender, age, and racial and ethnic groups. Today the number of Utah children, adolescents, and adults that are obese is at a record high, with increases in obesity documented for children (kindergarten-eighth grade), adolescents (high school), and adults (18 years and older).
Children
The number of Utah children at an unhealthy weight increased dramatically from 1994 to 2008. Using the 3rd grade as an example: in 1994, 16.9% of 3rd graders were at an unhealthy weight whereas in 2008, it increased to 19.7%, a 17% increase. Looking at elementary school students overall, in 2008 21.5% were at an unhealthy weight. More boys are overweight than girls.
- Childhood Overweight in Utah 2008 (PDF 453KB)
- See the Resources page for prevention recommendations
Adolescents
The percentage of obese Utah high school students has not changed significantly since 1999. The percentage of obese Utah high school boys is roughly double that of obese girls. In Utah over 51,000 public high school students report being overweight or obese. The number of obese Utah public high school students (21,000 students) is enough to fill 600 classrooms.
Adults
In 2007, more than half of Utah adults (59.5%) were overweight or obese. This amounts to over 1.1 millionadult Utahns! Over two-thirds of adult males (68.0%) and half (50.8%) of females were at an unhealthy weight. The percentage of obese adults has grown from 10.4% in 1989 to 23.1% in 2007 (age-adjusted), an increase of 122%.
Nationally, the trend is similar. In 1993, only 15 states reported obesity rates greater than the Healthy People 2010 Objective of 15 percent. By 2003, all 50 states had rates greater than 15 percent.
Small Areas
‘Small areas’ refers to a set of 61 geographic areas in Utah with relatively small population sizes, approximately 20,000 to 60,000 persons. All small areas are contained within a health district and, when possible, conform to cities and towns. The land area of the small areas varies greatly, with the smallest area consisting of a few square miles in Salt Lake County and the largest small area encompassing the three counties that make up the TriCounty Health District.
Obesity
After adjusting for age, Tooele County and TriCounty health districts had a higher prevalence of obesity (27.9% and 27.4% respectively), while Summit County had a lower prevalence of obesity (10.8%) when compared to the state rate. There were also several small areas with higher and lower prevalence rates of obesity relative to the state rate. Those with higher rates included Glendale (30.4%), Rose Park (32.8%), Sandy Center (27.1%), and West Jordan North (32.8%). Those with lower rates included Avenues (4.6%), Cottonwood (13.6%), Downtown Salt Lake (13.4%), and Sandy Northwest (12.6%).
Overweight or Obese
After adjusting for age, Tooele County and TriCounty health districts had a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity (63.4% and 67.1% respectively), while Summit County had a lower prevalence (43.7%) when compared to the state rate. There were also several small areas with higher and lower prevalence rates of overweight and obesity relative to the state rate. Those with higher rates include Clearfield/Hill AFB (68.4%), Kearns (64.6%), other Box Elder Co. (67.7%), and West Valley West (68.8%). Those with lower rates include Avenues (42.7%), Bountiful (49.8%), Holladay (48.2%), Provo/BYU (46.9%), Sandy Southeast (47.8%) and Summit (43.6%).
